Couple died as they lived — together

LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN Diana Moser holds a photo of her parents, Robert and Darlene Moser of Kingston, who passed away within hours of one another on Jan. 23.

It’s still early for Valentine’s Day, but this story in the Kitsap (Wash.) Sun about a long-married couple who did virtually everything together — including dying — is surprisingly life-affirming.

Death, like everything in their 62-year marriage, was something the Mosers faced together.

Eighty-four-year-old Robert, whose health had declined steadily in recent years, always expected to go first. His 80-year-old wife, Darlene, had been his steady caretaker at the Seatter Road home they built with their own hands.

That is, until December, when a cancer gave her precious few weeks of life to live.

When Robert learned Darlene was terminally ill, he quickly grumbled: “I’m terminal, too.”

The claim drew scoffs from his family. But he was serious.

And as his wife lay beside him in her last moments on Jan. 23, Robert, too, began to die, to the amazement of his family and hospice caretakers.